The head of the Ondo State Security Network (Amotekun Corps), Adetunji Adeleye, has said that the biggest problem the group faced was the frequent fights between farmers and herders. He made this known on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Akure.

Adeleye explained that these farmer-herder conflicts used to cause serious problems—destroying crops, leading to loss of lives, and creating fear among farmers. Many farmers had stopped going to their farms because they were afraid of being kidnapped, attacked, or losing their crops to grazing cattle.

However, he said things have now changed. Amotekun started a mass education campaign to teach both farmers and herders about their rights and limits. For example, farmers were told not to take the law into their own hands by harming cows, while herders were told not to destroy farms with their animals.

Vehicles of the Amotekun Corps

Amotekun also brought together leaders of both sides—including representatives from the farmers and the Miyetti Allah cattle breeders’ group—to talk and agree on peaceful solutions. This helped reduce the tension and encouraged farmers to return to their fields.

In the past, Adeleye said they received almost 20,000 complaints in just six months. But after a year of education and dialogue, normalcy was largely restored. This move helped fight food insecurity in the state, as more people began farming again.

To make the peace efforts stronger, the state government also passed a law banning open grazing, especially at night. Adeleye said this anti-open grazing law made their job easier and helped reduce conflicts further.

Over three years, Amotekun arrested about 170 suspects and seized over 10,000 cows that were found grazing illegally. Although there were challenges in taking suspects to court at first, the law helped smoothen the process.

Adeleye praised the government and the House of Assembly for supporting Amotekun with the necessary laws to maintain peace between herders and farmers.